Sullivan County, MO Churches (1830 – 1900)

Early churches in Sullivan County, Missouri, were conducted by circuit-rider ministers. missions and rural gatherings in the 1840s before constructing permanent buildings. Denominations such as the Methodists and Baptists dominated this period. The Civil War impacted and disrupted congregations.

• Camp Ground Church (Milan):
  Organized in the early 1850s, this Methodist Episcopal Church (South) was originally a retreat with tents and sheds. It was burned during the Civil War and rebuilt in 1901. It is now on the Register of Historic Places.

  The church was built in 1901, and is a one-story, Classical Revival style rectangular frame building. It measures 30 feet by 44 feet and rests on a broken ashlar foundation. The cemetery was founded in 1855 as a public burial ground and contains approximately 400 graves.¹

  The name Camp Ground, according to story/legend, say it was a favorite camping place for overland wagon trains and travelers. Some say it was so named because of the two faiths and religious meetings. It was the gathering place for the entire county. Settlers from Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and various other places came and sat tied on “Big Medicine Creek” until they 'settled in' on their own land.

  The oldest person known buried at Camp Ground was Jane Cooper, born 1793, wife of Christopher Cooper. Enoch Lane and Sam Brown selected the first grave sites. The first grave was for Sarah E. (d. 9-15-1853) infant daughter of Sam A. and Susan Brown. A lot of early graves are not marked.

  In 1899 Sam White, Leroy Page and Barton Weston circulated petitions and raised enough money to purchase 10 acres of land from John and Emily West for $200. The Camp Ground Church as it was then and still is, has been the home of numerous faiths, the last of which was Baptist. In 1948 the church was badly in need of repairs, so money was raised and it was put in first class condition. Later Mark Mairs and Clellan Spencer spearheaded the effort to restore the cemetery grounds and to this day it is well maintained. Annual basket dinners are held on Sunday of Memorial and Labor Day weekends. This spot, made holy by the ones who came this way and their strong faith in the Lord, leaves its mark on yet another new generation to help them understand just a small amount of the history it played in the settlement of this great nation.

  A perpetual charitable trust fund has been established to care for the cemetery.

  Contributed by Betty Gramling
  REF. Sullivan County Sesquicentennial Book, 1995, pgs. 17 & 18.

• First Cumberland Presbyterian Church:
  Organized July 28, 1855 at Christopher Cooper's close by Camp Ground. A story told about the very dry year of 1857 in which a special prayer was offered during a religious gathering for rain. Before the meeting started on Saturday evening it began to rain and became almost as big a nuisance as the dry weather. Some members complained that Rev. Mr. Nevins was “known to overdo everything he undertook.”
• Green City Presbyterian Church (Green City):
  A historic congregation in the northeast part of the county that built a permanent brick structure in the late 19th century. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Milan Methodist Episcopal Church (Milan):
  Known as the “Old Church,” it aligned with the Union and faced hardship during the Civil War. The southern wing separated to form the Methodist Church, South in Milan in 1868, which later became the Milan United Methodist Church.
• First Baptist Church of Milan:
  One of the earliest Baptist congregations established in the county, formed during a period of heavy growth and settlement.
• Newtown Christian Church (Newtown):
  Serving the western part of Sullivan County, this Disciples of Christ congregation has deep roots in the late 1800s.
• First Christian Church (Green City):
  Organized in the late 19th century to serve the rapidly growing railroad town of Green City.

And ...

Early Circuit/Mission Churches:
Before the turn of the century, localized "societies" met in schoolhouses or groves across the county. Notable early groups included the Kiddville Methodist society (organized in the mid-1800s, later moved to Green City) and the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church (organized in 1855 near Camp Ground).

1. Paragraph source: Wikipedia.